This week, Head of PlayStation Productions Asad Qizilbash stops by to discuss adapting video games into TV and film and what’s next from PlayStation Productions.
PLUS: Resident Evil 4 spoilercast and next week’s new releases (Star Wars Jedi Survivor!)
Stuff We Talked About
Interview with Asad Qizilbash (begins at 1:20)
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor
VR Skater
God of War (2018)
Humanity
Street Fighter VI
Resident Evil 4 (spoilercast begins at 50:00)
The Cast
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Sid Shuman – Senior Director of Content Communications, SIE
Tim Turi – Senior Content Communications Specialist, SIE
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Brett Elston – Manager, Content Communications, SIE
Thanks to Cory Schmitz for our beautiful logo and Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music.
[Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]
Last week, we asked you to share awesome moments involving sports using the #PSshare and #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights:
imroyank Kratos is ready to be quarterback of the year in Fortnite
GurararalaPlaying a weird game of soccer in Ghostwire: Tokyo
AjGamingPics1 A close up of a speeding car in Dirt 5
shimo_ps Bunny mask skier going down the slopes in Riders Republic
soratobichanA colorful close up of a soccer ball in FIFA 23
RhodWulfLeon The Rock laying the smackdown in WWE 2K23
Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week?
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THEME: Ghostwire: Tokyo Spider’s Thread SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on April 26, 2023
Next week we’re getting spooky with shots from the Ghostwire: Tokyo Spider’s Thread update. Share moments that capture the creepy spirit of Tokyo with #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.
Prepare those spray cans because we’re painting the streets with a fresh coat of news straight from the Street Fighter 6 Showcase – hosted by Lil Wayne! Our finished piece contains hues of detailed information on World Tour, battles with your customized avatars in Battle Hub, jaw-dropping features to brighten up your Fighting Ground experience, unveiling of the Year 1 Fighters, and a demo you can play today.
A role-playing game around the world
World Tour is a single-player story mode where players can create their own custom avatar to experience an overarching mystery with support from the iconic Masters. The newest location in your travels is Nayshall, a developing nation tucked away in a remote corner of Asia.
Throughout your adventures, you’ll meet each legendary fighter from Street Fighter 6’s roster. Use Flight Tickets to travel around the world to find each of the 18 fighters – some are more hidden than others. Become their student by Enrolling in their style and learn their Special Moves. Increase your bond with each Master by giving them presents and completing Missions. Combine all this to unlock new cutscenes as you form personal connections with these legendary fighters. Put that in your diary!
We built World Tour to redefine the scope of what a traditional fighting game is, so we took extra care in hand-crafting a personal experience by incorporating in-depth RPG elements. You can consume items and food to recover Vitality, provide buffs, or inflict debuffs. As you level up your avatar, you’ll earn Skill Points to spend on a Skill Tree to further customize your original move set.
Watch out for hot-headed enemies who will chase you down on the streets to initiate combat! Unique to World Tour, unlock Drive Stall in the Skill Tree to slow down time to avoid enemies or gain the advantage with a Master Action. During a fight, when the enemy flashes, you can hit them to induce Pressure Time to inflict more damage. Perfect to take out those pesky refrigerators and drones!
Create Chaos with Avatar Battles and Order with Clubs
You know all those avatars you’re going to make, each with their own customized looks and fighting style? Take them into the Battle Hub and let them loose in custom avatar battles against other players online where the limit to your fights is your own imagination. Use your avatar with Dhalsim’s style, Zangief’s Screw Piledriver, and Ken’s Hadoken or any other wacky combination, which could lead to ridiculous set-ups. Be wary because your opponent might have come up with an even crazier palette of moves.
If order is more your thing, create a Club in the Battle Hub to find like-minded players. Customize your Club emblem and design a uniform that only your Club’s members can show off.
Top-Tier innovation in the Fighting Ground
As a celebration of the Street Fighter series, we’re introducing the Battle Damage Feature! During a fight, characters will get sweatier and develop cuts, bruises, and other telltale signs of a heated battle. This is only available in certain offline modes and can be turned off in Settings.
We’re committed to accessibility in Street Fighter 6 and have enhanced sound effects that will tell you how far away you are from your opponent, the height level of attacks, whether an attack is a cross-up, and to also indicate your remaining Drive Gauge.
We also have a multitude of introductory tools for all skill levels. Fleshed-out Tutorials and Character Guides provide a solid foundation for each character, especially for those with little experience in fighting games or anyone that wants to try out new characters. Our third Control Type, to go along with Classic and Modern, is Dynamic, where players can unleash flashy moves with a single press of a button – yes, button mashers are welcome! Once you feel comfortable, you can try tackling Combo Trials, which include combos of varying difficulty.
Arcade Mode is a single-player mode in Fighting Ground where you’ll face off against the CPU and learn more about each fighter’s stories. Complete Arcade Mode for each character to unlock illustrations that can be viewed later in the Gallery. Your scores can also be uploaded to online leaderboards, so get out there and challenge the world.
Besides the classic Versus Mode, Street Fighter 6 includes both Team Battle and Extreme Battle. In Team Battle, play with or against other players or the CPU by creating a team and selecting the appropriate parameters. Extreme Battle runs on a set of Rules along with fun Gimmicks like Running Bulls or our own special version of hot potato. Play in Extreme Battle to learn the basics of the game or to unleash pure havoc.
Play online against other players by creating a Custom Room, separate from the Battle Hub. The four virtual cabinets in the room can be set to One on One, Extreme Battle, and Training. Custom Rooms now include up to 16 players at a time!
Ranked Matches return where you can fight against other players worldwide and earn League Points to rank up. We’ve taken steps to reduce the fear of losing a match in certain Ranks. First, there’s a one-time Rank-down protection feature for those ranked in Diamond and below. To encourage online play, Rookies will no longer lose League Points upon defeat. Finally, Iron-Gold and Master-ranked players will not incur League demotions. Each character also has their own individual Rank, so trying a new character in a Ranked Match is easier than ever. We hope you take advantage of these features to improve your gameplay!
*Takes a second to breathe* If you’ve made it this far, you’ll see how much content is in Street Fighter 6. Our development team challenged themselves to create a title all players can enjoy.
Year 1 Characters bring their style
Four fighters join the Street Fighter 6 roster in our first year after launch! Rashid, who debuted in Street Fighter V, returns in Summer 2023. The enigmatic A.K.I. struts into the roster in Autumn 2023. Ed, also from Street Fighter V, strikes back in Winter 2024. Finally, the legend, the beast, the transcendent Akuma will rage into Street Fighter 6 in Spring 2024! All four of these characters are incorporated into World Tour where you can learn their Special Moves and increase your bond. They’re also included in the Deluxe and Ultimate Editions of Street Fighter 6, which you can pre-order now!
Your moment. Your demo.
Play the demo for Street Fighter 6 today on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4! Hop in for a tiny peek at what the full game offers. Learn basic battle mechanics from the Tutorial and practice Luke & Ryu’s fighting style in the Character Guide. Dip a toe into the first moments of World Tour and experiment with the deep avatar creation feature. Custom avatars can be transferred over to the full game on the same platform once it releases!
If you haven’t already, watch the Street Fighter 6 Showcase to take in the cityscape because it’s almost your time to hit the streets. Street Fighter 6 launches on June 2 for PS5 and PS4! Pre-order now for Outfit 1 Color 10 for Chun-Li, Jamie, Manon, Dee Jay, Juri, and Ken – PlayStation Store pre-order offers an extra bonus of 18 Special Titles and Stickers.
I’m excited to announce that we’ve expanded our relationship with Firewalk Studios and are thrilled to welcome them to PlayStation Studios. Firewalk is home to a remarkably talented team of creatives who have launched some of gaming’s most celebrated experiences, and they’re already hard at work on their first original AAA multiplayer game for PlayStation.
Since announcing our publishing partnership with ProbablyMonsters and Firewalk in 2021, we continue to be impressed by the team’s ambitions to build a modern multiplayer game that connects players in new and innovative ways. The studio shares our passion for creating inspiring worlds grounded in exceptional gameplay, and we want to continue to invest in their mission. We’re excited for Firewalk to bring their technical and creative expertise to PlayStation Studios to help grow our live service operations and deliver something truly special for gamers.
Please join me in welcoming Firewalk!
Every once in a while, you get to have an adventure.
Over five years ago, we jumped at the chance to set up a new studio and build a new IP from the ground up. Recalling our own favorite times with games, we founded Firewalk Studios around the idea of delivering memorable moments – those amazing, had-to-be-there times shared with other people. Our goal is to deliver those shared moments of joy to players around the world.
Building a new studio at scale has been an incredibly exhilarating and relentlessly daunting task. Fortunately, we’ve been supported by great partners throughout – ProbablyMonsters helped turbocharge us in setting up the studio, and Sony has been supporting our project and our creative vision from the beginning.
We’ve assembled some of the most inspired talent in the industry to deliver awe-inspiring new worlds and experiences filled with great core gameplay. The excitement of building something new for players has thoroughly energized the team and our partners, and we’ve been playtesting every day.
Today we’re taking the next natural step and joining PlayStation Studios. We’ve worked closely with Hermen and the very talented team at PlayStation for years, helping to make our new game even better. To join PlayStation Studios is to formally become part of a family that has produced many of the most storied games of our age, and we are honored.
We want to thank everyone who’s supported us along the way and those looking forward to our future. It’s been an incredible journey so far, and we can’t wait for the next chapter in this adventure.
– Tony Hsu and Ryan Ellis Studio Head and Game Director, Firewalk Studios
The key to victory in this 4v4 competitive platformer is strategy. There are strategic advantages throughout the game from gameplay, to hero roles, powers, and more.
To celebrate the start of Crash Team Rumble’s Closed Beta – here are some tips and tricks that can give you a leg up on the competition to lead your team victory:
Boosts are stackable depending on what map you’re on
Gem pads boost your score, but there is huge boost potential by capturing all of the gem pad clusters on one map.
Pro Tip: Be sure you and your team collects and banks as much Wumpa as possible while the boost is active, to fully benefit from the boost.
Fighting is only a means to an end: scoring is what counts
The name of the game is scoring – so defense is just as important as offense.
Victory is a much harder task without a blocker. The blocker’s main goal is to prevent the other team from scoring at their Wumpa bank. How can a team win if they can’t bank their Wumpa?!
Pro Tip: The Gasmoxian Guard is a blocker’s best friend. Blocker’s should have their Gasmoxian Guard set up camp at the other team’s Wumpa bank, making it extremely difficult for the other team to score.
Relic Stations can swing the match
If a game is close, the Relic Station can make all the difference – rolling over enemies, catapulting around a map, and more.
Pro Tip: Collect as many relics as possible early to use on epic stations for game changing results later in the match when it becomes more crucial.
Use the whole map
Don’t be afraid to explore and see what’s available in all of the corners of the map.
Pro Tip: Don’t forget to explore the map vertically. Check out the views from a higher point, you never know, you may find a new way to help your team from a bird’s eye perspective.
Your hero’s powers matter
Specific powers can take roles to the next level, choose wisely. Some powers are meant to compliment a hero – ie. golden Wumpa for a scorer, Gasmoxian Guard for a blocker, etc.
Pro Tip: Placement of a power can make all the difference, be strategic.
It has been five incredible years since God of War (2018) came out and more since our team at Santa Monica Studio was deep in development on the game. Since then, we’ve released the game’s NG+ mode, next-gen updates, a PC port, and a sequel you might have heard of called God of War Ragnarök. None of this would have been possible without the enduring and enthusiastic support you’ve shown us over the years.
To mark the five-year anniversary of God of War (2018), our team wanted to celebrate the occasion with you by taking a deep dive behind the scenes into the creation of the climactic boss fight against Baldur.
Big-time spoilers for God of War (2018) ahead!
Strange(r) Beginnings
The Stranger, later revealed to be Baldur, is the first character you meet after being introduced to Kratos and Atreus. He comes calling with an agenda that immediately puts him at odds with Kratos, where his combat ability and persistence immediately mark him as the most dangerous threat dogging our heroes’ heels throughout their journey.
Baldur confronts Kratos at his home in Midgard.
While Kratos and Atreus don’t want to engage with him, Baldur forces them to fight for their lives on several occasions throughout the realms. He is the final boss of the main story, the culmination of the Aesir plot and last test the players must overcome before finally scattering Faye’s ashes from the highest peak in all the realms.
Concept art of Baldur – Artist: Jose Cabrera.
The conflict comes to a head when Baldur turns his rage towards his mother Freya, as well as Kratos and Atreus, forcing them into the fight of their lives against one of the All-Father’s strongest followers. Bruno Velazquez, Animation Director at Santa Monica Studio, emphasized the goal of the sequence:
“We knew that the players would expect a big epic finale, so our goal was always to try and push what we had done on the initial Baldur fight and up the stakes in every way.”
Start to finish, this sequence is one of the most ambitious in the game and combined the efforts of our entire team to pull it off. From extensive cinematics with dramatic confrontations between the characters to a massive boss fight that spanned multiple phases and locations – this climactic finish to the plot’s main conflict was one of the most important moments in the game we had to get right to make sure our players reached Jötunheim with a sense of well-earned satisfaction.
Putting pen to paper
The pressure to make this sequence feel epic and earned after teasing it from the start of the game was high. When it came to laying the groundwork, the first step was writing the story.
Matt Sophos, Narrative Director at Santa Monica Studio, spoke on what the team wanted to achieve:
“The narrative objective was twofold. First, we wanted to convey from both a story and gameplay perspective just how far Kratos and Atreus had come in their relationship. We wanted to show they were working together seamlessly, protecting each other, and fighting as a unit.
The second goal was to put Kratos and Atreus on a collision course with no cut-and-dried ‘good’ outcome. There was going to be a cost to this fight, and the one they chose was one that turned Freya from an ally to an enemy.”
Script page from cinematic leading into the final confrontation with Baldur.
Despite Kratos demonstrating his growth by trying to resolve the situation without fighting, Baldur is unrelenting in his pursuit of Freya’s life. This puts him and Kratos in direct conflict once again, sparking the final showdown between the two.
Giant sense of scale
The fight between Baldur, Kratos, and Atreus shows no signs of stopping despite Freya’s use of Vanir magic to separate them. She turns towards more drastic measures by possessing the corpse of Thamur, the Stone Mason.
Visual exploration of Thamur – Artists: Dela Longfish & Yefim Kligerman.
During certain parts of the game, this figure has been visible to the player in Midgard – extremely large and perhaps intimidating in his size, but ultimately harmless. The Stone Mason’s presence is meant to evoke a sense of wonder or curiosity in the player, and maybe even a ‘what if’ moment imagining the fight between Thamur and Thor as Mimir describes the very encounter that killed the Giant in one of his stories.
Concept art of Thamur scale reference – Artist: Jose Cabrera.
The integration of the colossal frozen body in the fight as both a mechanic and a platform across three phases was exactly the type of wild idea that made it worthy of being in the final fight of the story.
Concept art exploring the look of Freya’s magic possessing Thamur.
Sophos emphasized that when it comes to creating these huge set-piece gameplay moments, they aren’t typically scripted by the Narrative Team from the beginning. In this case, it was Design Team that came up with the idea of using the Stone Mason as part of the fight:
“Any time we approach boss fights from the narrative side, we’re reticent to write huge checks that other departments have to cash. Whenever you put something down on the page as a writer, you know lots of other team members will have to execute on it, so we try to keep the core narrative small and personal while letting Design tell us how big they want to go.
Freya puppeteering the corpse of Thamur didn’t come from us, but when Design said they wanted to do it and have the fight range all over the place (including on top of him), we giddily said, ‘Hell yeah… we’ll make that work.”
Script page from the cinematic where Thamur is possessed by Freya’s magic.
Larger-than-life boss fights are a hallmark of the God of War series, so the team was no stranger to going big and reaching for something they felt would blow players away. However, one new element introduced in God of War (2018) had a profound impact on how those moments were captured – the camera.
The closer placement to Kratos and no-cut technique used throughout the game were essential in achieving the feeling of undergoing an intimate journey with father and son. Whether in cutscenes or combat, you are always close to Kratos, seeing and experiencing what he does.
Erol Oksuz, Lead Camera Designer at Santa Monica Studio, discussed how this approach impacted the reveal of the Giant:
“The credit to selling the scale of Thamur goes to Cinematics, Animation, Art, and Lighting —truly a team effort. In the prior Greek-era games, scale was shown by flying the camera waaaaay out, dwarfing Kratos and the player against creatures and the environment.
However, God of War (2018)’s goal of putting the player and camera on the ground for Kratos and Atreus’ journey created many rules to provide the documentary-inspired experience. Along with ‘no cuts’ was ‘no flying cameras’ — this meant the camera could not simply fly away on its own for extreme long shots. Instead, what replaced it was beautifully crafted choreography that added scale to the experience — the work of those teams still ‘wow’ me.”
“For example, just after Baldur loses his invulnerability, Freya binds him with vines and whips him by the camera. That slight pan and tilt now sets the player up for a classic God of War moment with a small, silhouetted Freya in the mid-ground and massive Thamur rising in the background.
Freya and the Giant are only alone in-frame for a moment before Kratos and Atreus step back into the foreground to remind the player that they’re right in the middle of it too — no need to have cut or flown the camera to any other position.”
Velazquez added that the transition sequence where Thamur grabs Kratos and Atreus in his massive hand also required the team to take extra consideration with the camera:
“One of the hardest challenges was keeping the continuity of the no-cut camera during the part where the Giant grabs Kratos and Atreus and picks them up. We needed to make sure we sold the idea that the hand blotted out all the light and engulfed our heroes without harming them, carrying them across the arena and seamlessly dropped them off somewhere else. This was very challenging from a technical standpoint for sure.”
The inclusion of Thamur affected not only the cinematic moments, but also the camera in combat. The team needed to account for how to best telegraph the Giant’s attacks during these sections with the camera position. For example, during the fight, Thamur slams the ground causing a wave AoE to disperse from the impact while the player is engaged with Baldur. Given the close position the camera already has in combat and the hectic nature of the encounter, Oksuz elaborated on the necessity to adapt for the increased scale:
“The Greek-era games had a camera locked to a general direction, so when a boss would attack, it would pull back to perfectly frame the move as a ‘tell,’ giving the player some time to react. That style of ‘tell’ had to be adapted because players now had full camera control, so we tried to provide as much info the player as possible without affecting their control or focus.”
“After a few iterations with Animation to get Thamur’s hand as low as possible, we also adjusted the camera to pull back further than usual and widened the lens to provide contrast with the normal, close-fight camera. This also opened screen real-estate to show off the ground below going into shadow while increasing the chance to see the Giant’s hand. With the final audio, a build-up of screen-shake, and controller rumble, there was enough there to communicate that something big was about to happen.”
The Stone Mason’s involvement in the scene ends when Atreus calls out to Jörmungandr to help them. The World Serpent obliges, resulting in a massive clash as he bites into the Giant and pushes it back, breaking Freya’s spell.
According to Velazquez, this was a late addition to the game as the team explored different ways to resolve Thamur’s presence. While Kratos and Atreus were motion-captured, the rest of the entire sequence was hand-animated by the talented Dennis Pena (Sr. Staff Animator), who had to balance keeping our heroes in the shot while capturing all the chaos and action around them.
Animation process on the sequence with Jörmungandr attacking Thamur.
Clash between Gods
The final encounter with Baldur features one of the most complex combat sequences in the game. With Kratos and Atreus’ full kits accessible, the team wanted players to feel powerful while making use of all the skills they learned throughout the story.
Denny Yeh, Lead Combat Designer, elaborated on the SMS Combat Team’s philosophy:
“We like to think of end-game fights as a final exam of sorts. Unlike challenge bosses like the Valkyries, which are designed to test pretty much everything, a story boss like Baldur needs to feel more like the greatest hits of mechanics throughout the game. Think of it like a celebration of what you’ve learned, rather than a strict test.”
Baldur is both the first and last encounter in the game, which posed a unique challenge in that this fight had to feel familiar and but also fresh. The Aesir god has an established, unique fighting style that is quite different from his brethren who all use weapons. Velazquez noted:
“Early on we decided for Baldur to not have a weapon due to the idea that someone that does not feel pain would be more reckless and daring when in combat. He would not need a shield to block or a sword to strike because he would rather use his own body as a weapon.”
This posed an interesting question for the team, who had to balance introducing new mechanics, while also maintaining consistency with the character that had been established through several fights already experienced by the player. The answer was partly with the integration of the Stone Mason and Freya as participants. These aren’t always just obstacles to be avoided, but also new tools the player can use to their advantage, Yeh explained:
“Freya herself wasn’t necessarily trying to kill you, more just stop the fight, so a lot of her intervention involved immobilizing you. It just so happens that being immobilized means Baldur can easily punch you in the face!
The cool thing about Freya’s vines is that they can affect both you and Baldur. So, if the player is paying attention, they can dodge it and lure Baldur into it, allowing them to turn the tables.”
On top of Freya’s magic and the screen-wide attacks from Thamur, the other significant element was, of course, Baldur himself:
“With end-game story bosses, we like to come up with mechanics to encourage usage of all your tools. From a combat perspective, this is where Baldur’s ability to absorb fire/ice came in. It allowed us to get the player to switch weapons and showcase a bigger variety of all the cool abilities they’ve unlocked up to that point.”
Animation process of Baldur’s Elemental Burst.
Baldur’s ability to imbue his body with fire and ice along with a new suite of moves were all key factors in keeping players on their toes. Taking point on the fight design was Sr. Staff Combat Designer Loren Bordas, who led the way building an encounter that gave players the opportunity to feel like the God of War while utilizing the full breadth of the tools and knowledge available to them.
“In addition to the overarching trait of absorbing elements, the element that he’s currently channeling changes the properties of all his attacks. This added a fun new twist to moves that the player had already seen before. He also had additional abilities such as throwing elemental projectiles. In the final phase of the fight, Loren and the team mixed and matched all of these attacks into combo sequences to really keep the pressure up.”
Baldur enters his fire phase during the fight.
While some bosses can have a more focused gameplay theme, such as the puzzle-solving element in the Hræzlyr fight that requires the player to utilize lightning sap, for an end-game boss like Baldur, Bordas and the team had to ensure the encounter didn’t make the player feel like their power progression was being invalidated by leaning on non-combat gameplay elements. This meant that the Baldur fight needed to have a good variety of phases and behaviors to make it feel like an epic finale. Yeh elaborated:
“He starts off element-less, allowing you to freestyle with whatever abilities you desire. Then he starts absorbing elements, encouraging you to show off your choice of runic attacks for each weapon.”
“In later phases, Loren and the team added additional enemies into the mix, allowing players who focus on crowd clearing abilities to shine. And then in the final phase, Baldur swapped between the two elements very frequently, adding the pressure of on-demand weapon switching.”
This time it’s personal
In many of the mid-fight sequences, the two gods clash with their fists, despite Kratos having weapons at his disposal. This was a deliberate choice the team made to emphasize the personal, desperate, and violent nature of the final confrontation between Kratos and Baldur. Velazquez offered additional insight:
“Since Baldur did not wield his own weapon, we decided that Kratos should also sheathe his to have more impact. This was in-line with the overall direction to make the combat a closer, more personal experience due to the camera, as well as the specific direction that these moments between Kratos and Baldur should feel like a brutal struggle. This is also why we chose to have Kratos use hands to end Baldur, it is a far more intimate and visceral moment than if he were using weapons.”
As the player, you are drawn close to the action by the camera while Kratos and Baldur trade blow after blow. There are plenty of moments during the fight that are there to make you feel triumphant as Kratos and Atreus work together against the man who came to their home and threatened them without provocation. However, there is also an equally intentional and unavoidable brutality to the encounter that the team included to convey the toll it takes on the characters and the eventual cost of their conflict.
Fighting as one
As Sophos explained, one of the teams’ key goals was to show how close Kratos and Atreus had come over the course of the game, as both a family and fighting unit. As much as the player is intended to feel accomplished and powerful as Kratos during this fight, it is also important for that feeling to extend to Atreus as he demonstrates how far he has come along the way by supporting the player in gameplay and combat moments.
This sequence was the chance to show just how much Atreus changed, from an unsure boy who couldn’t shoot a deer to a confident fighter Kratos could rely upon in battle. Velazquez described these moments:
“There are several sequences that sell the team up between Kratos and Atreus well, like Kratos tossing Atreus in the air to fire arrows, as well as when Kratos jumps off the Stone Mason holding Baldur, with Atreus leaping off after them. “
Animation process on chisel leap sequence.
“However, nothing compares to the moment in which the player must press well-timed prompts as Kratos and Atreus take turns pummeling Baldur. It was such a highlight for us to be able to include some of these moments that really make you feel like a cohesive fighting unit as both father and son.”
Animation process on Kratos and Atreus team-up sequence.
Atreus actively supports Kratos during the encounter by dealing out damage and stun to create opportunities to close in on Baldur, but it is during these cutscenes and QTEs where the team really wanted our boy to shine and give a moment for the player to cheer him on.
Performances to remember
As the climax of the game, this sequence had the monumental task of not only delivering a huge combat set piece, but also offering a conclusion to two of the most prominent storylines outside of Kratos and Atreus.
Though the scene begins with Kratos and Atreus unsure where Freya’s loyalties lie, as soon as they see Baldur’s hostility towards her, the pair immediately move to defend her as tensions rise. At this point in the game, Freya has saved Atreus’ life and been an integral part of our heroes’ journey.
Kratos steps forward to intervene between Baldur and Freya.
Despite knowing all the good she’s done for the pair, Kratos and Atreus’ journey to Helheim shed new light on Baldur’s suffering for the player. We’ve seen first-hand how psychologically scarred his inability to feel has left him. While not excusing his actions, knowing the toll Freya’s spell took on Baldur adds a sorrowful layer of nuance to the encounter that actor Jeremy Davies’ portrayal expertly conveys. Sophos added:
“He brought such pain to a character who, ironically, couldn’t feel it. His performance made it hard to hate Baldur since even the worst things he said had an undercurrent of tragedy to them.”
Another moment of Davies’ exceptional delivery from this scene takes place right after the Mistletoe Arrowhead releases the spell on Baldur, allowing him to feel for the first time in a century. Velazquez discussed the actor’s ability to capture all the emotions running through the character:
“Jeremey did such a fantastic job with Baldur overall but the moment that really stays with me is when the Mistletoe Arrow dispels the spell Freya put on him and he regains the ability to feel once again. He did such a great job of selling that moment and helped the audience have some sympathy for Baldur and his plight.”
Another of many standout performances from the closing cinematic of this sequence is Danielle Bisutti’s portrayal of Freya.
As the Narrative Team stated in their goals for the final encounter of the game, this was never going to be an ending where everyone walked away happy. It is in large-part due to Bisutti’s heart-wrenching performance as Freya that the repercussions of Kratos’ actions had meaningful weight. Curled over the lifeless body of the son she sacrificed everything to keep safe, Freya’s raging grief as she turned from ally to enemy was embodied perfectly through Bisutti’s portrayal. Sophos added this scene was one of the most impactful he witnessed on stage:
“When Danielle Bisutti (Freya) promises retribution for the killing of her son, and slowly builds in intensity until she’s just spitting bile, hate, and grief at Kratos… it’s one of the most powerful moments I’ve ever been a part of.”
“You could hear a pin drop on the performance capture stage. We were all just kind of stunned into silence. I knew based on how much of herself Danielle invests in her performance that she was going to go hard, but DAMN…”
And with that, we hope you’ve enjoyed this look back on the final boss fight in God of War (2018)!
On behalf of everyone who played a part in the creation of this game and all the team here at Santa Monica Studio, we cannot express our gratitude enough to our community for all the support given to us over the last five years. We wouldn’t be here without you!
Hi, I’m Bryant Cannon, the game director for Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, and we’re so excited to finally share that the game will launch on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on July 12, 2023.
If you’re not familiar with Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, then allow me to paint a picture for you. Welcome to Camena: a small coastal town that is currently experiencing unnaturally occurring electromagnetic waves that are interfering with electrical and radio equipment. TVs turn on and off. Planes lose radar. Radio stations can’t broadcast through the static. You know, problems that every quaint town in the Pacific Northwest has to deal with.
Enter Riley Poverly, an environmental researcher who begrudgingly returns to her hometown to investigate these frequency signals and ends up taking on more than she bargained for. You, as Riley, will brave rigorous terrain, encounter mysterious cults, and discover strange supernatural phenomena that threaten to alter the world as we know it. How you confront these challenges is up to you, and your choices will shape Riley’s future – as well as the very fate of Camena.
To take on the tasks at hand, you’ll need the right gear. Riley’s backpack is filled with just that: a radio, which tunes into supernatural frequencies; transmitters, which Riley will need to plant throughout Camena in order to understand more about these radio frequencies; a climbing kit to traverse some of the more treacherous terrain in Camena; and a walkie talkie, which will allow Riley to communicate with a few new characters along the way.
Let’s dive more into the walkie-talkie.
Hello, do you copy?
Those who played Oxenfree are familiar with its dialogue system and the unique radio mechanic that allowed Alex – the main character of the first game – to communicate with mysterious specters and manipulate her world. In Oxenfree II, we wanted to evolve that idea. This new walkie-talkie feature puts the player in charge of when and how Riley will engage in conversations with off-screen characters.
So how does it work? Let’s say you’re trekking back from planting a transmitter up at Tootega Falls, and your old high school acquaintance and work partner, Jacob, isn’t feeling too chatty. You can use the left trigger at just about any time to open your walkie-talkie. Browse through the channels until you find who you want to talk to, and voilà!
To answer or not to answer, that is the question
In Oxenfree II, players will shape the story through Riley’s actions and dialogue choices, similar to how they did with Alex and the characters in the first game. Each decision impacts who Riley becomes, her relationships with other characters, and the story options available at every turn.
Radio and walkie talkie concept art
The walkie talkie expands on this and opens up a layer of player agency; you can choose to move the story along as you see fit, depending on how you engage with folks on the walkie. Unlike in the first game, where you were faced with dialogue choices with the people in front of you, you now have the option to initiate conversations with walkie contacts at any time. These interactions allow you to uncover useful insights about the mysteries of Camena.
Or you can completely ignore them. It has its consequences if you go that route – but it’s your call to make.
Who’s out there?
In addition to some of the characters you’ll encounter – like Jacob, and the members of the cult-like group Parentage (more on that another time) – the walkie-talkie introduces more local contacts. If you find yourself stuck at any point in the game, you can pull out the walkie and touch base with one of your contacts.
Not only will you learn more about Camena, but also the personal crises they’re currently facing.
One of those characters is Maria, the DJ for the student-run radio station at Camena High. When you tune into her radio show, she offers to give advice to listeners on channel eight. If you choose to contact her, she may even ask you for advice, and helping her may change what kinds of music you hear on Camena High Radio.
Another character you’ll make contact with (or rather, he’ll contact you) is Nick, a sailor who, in his own words, “has been all up and down the coastline.” If you decide to help Nick with a small favor, he’ll offer valuable insight into the strange occurrences around Camena. You might also need to help him down the road as he grapples with his own supernatural situation.
A coming-of-age story
In the midst of the supernatural events surrounding them, Riley and her walkie contacts must also confront the seemingly ordinary impact of everyday life and the choices all of us make about who we want to be.
Were the life choices Riley made the right ones for her? Is she who she really wants to be?
Similar to the teens in the original Oxenfree, your walkie contacts are making pivotal decisions about their lives: Should Maria share a secret that could forever change a friendship? Should Nick take a leap of faith? As Riley, you’ll connect with them on the walkie and talk through it all – personal issues and terrifying ghosts and cults alike. Just like everyday life.
We can’t for you all to dive into the happenings in Camena when Oxenfree II: Lost Signals launches on July 12. Pre-orders are now live on PlayStation Store for 25% off.
VR Skater is a highly immersive street Skateboarding game coming to PlayStation VR2 this Summer! It’s a finely tuned mix of both arcade and simulation. Easy to learn but hard to master, the feeling you get after landing a difficult trick is like no other!
Today we’re talking new features, experiences, and everything PlayStation VR2!
One thing all Skaters need to experience in VR is the Mega Ramp! From a gameplay point of view, the mega ramp allows Players to catch air like never before, pulling off insane flip tricks and huge grabs over the iconic Mega Ramp, made famous by Skateboarding Legend Danny Way. Usually, the key gameplay dynamic of VR Skater is all about street skating. So, as well as being highly impressive and something the community wants, it offers a different gameplay mechanic in this separate immersive experience. Something completely new to the world of VR.
Adaptive triggers
Announced first today on the PlayStation Blog, VR Skater will use the power of the PS VR2 to push immersion further! We plan to use the adaptive triggers to adjust tension when steering in-game. Giving the sensation of resistance you’d feel in a skateboard’s trucks and bushings in real life. VR fans and skaters will love this announcement as we’re trying to replicate even the most minor details of skating.
The controls replicate how tricks would be performed in real life. Swiping and scooping your hands as if they were feet to perform iconic skate tricks like kickflips, tre flips, hardflips, and many more! Feeling intuitive if you’ve ever stepped foot on a skateboard before. To perform grinds and slides, the player will hold buttons to apply rotation and pressure to individual sides of the board, giving players the freedom to skate how they want to. Whether it be tail or nose slides, 50-50 grinds, or many more. You can also work a series of grabs and the finger flip into your combos.
Customization
Skateboarding is a very creative outlet. From the tricks you perform, to the fashion and music embedded in the sport’s history. Customizing your board is an essential part of Skateboarding. Announced first here on the PlayStation blog, players will be able to customize their boards and grip tape using the Print Tablet! Reach a certain XP level and you’ll unlock the Print Tablet, allowing you to upload custom textures, and arrange them however you desire. This is a highly requested feature that we’re stoked to announce today!
But how does customization in VR Skater work? Head to the VR Skate shop where you can find all new decks, trucks, wheels, and grip tapes that you physically apply to create your perfect setup. You’ll be able to unlock new coloured decks, trucks, wheels & grip tapes by completing challenges and levelling up in-game. A feature that all skate fans are sure to love.
Who are Deficit Games?
Deficit Games is a small indie VR game studio from the Bavarian countryside founded in 2017. Before VR Skater, they released smaller mobile VR titles. Since founder and VR enthusiast Andi has strong roots in the skate and punk rock scene, looking at possible designs for a VR skateboarding game was a very organic decision. Then everything took its course and in 2022 the Early Access version of VR Skater was nominated for the German Games Award in the category of Technology and Innovation.
Both Perp Games and Deficit Games can’t wait to release VR Skater into the wild this Summer on PlayStation VR2!
You can Wishlist the game now on PlayStation Store.
In a blindingly fast world, with so much to keep up with, is there a space to escape where everything slows down and we can sip our favorite beverage in peace? That’s what we, Toge Productions, want to serve in our Coffee Talk series, which soon will have its second game in Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly.
Before I continue, let me introduce myself! My name is Arya, Toge Productions’ PR & Communications Manager, and I’m here to tell you a story about how Coffee Talk came about. How it connects to you – the players, the importance of its diverse fantastical cast of characters, a little scoop on the ever-mysterious barista, and everything in between.
Coffee Talk’s origins came from an internal game jam of Toge Productions crew, and it was first called Project Green Tea Latte. Andrew Jeremy, our Music Producer, said that the premise was to recreate the calm vibe of a coffee shop into a game, where we could listen to lo-fi music, hear people talking, and just enjoy the atmosphere. Following the positive player reception to the early demo we were convinced of the game’s potential and decided to give it a go.
What most people don’t know is that we almost chose other games to develop! A detective game and a shop simulation game… We postponed the detective one because we wanted to take some of Coffee Talk’s mechanics for it, so we decided to go with Coffee Talk first.
And the rest, at least for the original Coffee Talk, is history…
Now let’s talk about the sequel, Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly, shall we?
In Hibiscus & Butterfly, we try to create more of the same vibe from its predecessor and progress the story of our beloved characters, but now with a richer narrative and new characters. Our fans wanted a deeper narrative, so we obliged with more branching and impactful storylines. Some branches even have bigger consequences!
To accomplish this, we added two great writers to our menu, Junkipatchi and Anna Winterstein. Junki, as the lead writer, focused on the main arc, while Anna expanded the stories of old characters like Hyde, Gala, Bayleys, and others. We really want to create a deeper and more expansive story in this sequel, while not forgetting the chill vibes of Coffee Talk, we have all adored!
We have two new characters here, Riona and Lucas, who have contrasting personalities. Riona is a banshee who, opposite to her kind’s stereotype (terrifying wails and bad luck), wants to be an opera singer. People on social media bullied her for her aspirations, so she really resents those online platforms. On the other hand, Lucas is a loud, slightly brash, and vivacious satyr-influencer, who may have his own layers that you’ll gradually discover as you play the game. With those personalities, you can imagine the dynamics between them would be interesting!
Talking about characters, Hibiscus & Butterfly still has the same diverse cast, with the return of established favorites plus these new faces. Dio Mahesa, our Lead Artist and Art Director, said that the designs were inspired by his love for D&D creatures like orcs and elves. We chose to create fantasy-inspired characters so we can explore – and ultimately break – the stereotypes that come with them. Then, we pour some real-life problems into the mix to create relatable stories for many of our players.
The strength of these diverse fantastical characters, for me personally, is they can relate to a broader audience, as players can see the characters as they are, their personality, without the shell of their race… or species even.
And of course, we’ll meet the enigmatic barista again. Who that person is is for you to decide. What we do know, and design, is that the barista is the bond that pulls the characters together, like a neutron in an atom, where the stories and characters circle around. And like a neutron, we designed the barista to be as neutral as possible. The barista is like that because, in Coffee Talk, you are here to listen. So, with that being said, are you ready to enjoy some more Coffee Talk warmth?
Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly will land on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on 20 April 2023.
Today we’re happy to reveal the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog for April 2023. All games will be available on Tuesday April 18. Let’s dive in.
PlayStation Plus Extra and Deluxe | Game Catalog
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Kena: Bridge of Spirits | PS4, PS5
Immerse yourself in a story-driven action-adventure set in a charming world rich with exploration and fast-paced combat. Play as Kena, a young Spirit Guide travelling to an abandoned village in search of the sacred mountain shrine. Find and grow a team of tiny spirits known as the Rot who maintain balance by decomposing dead and rotting elements. Enhance your companions’ abilities, create new ways to manipulate the environment and uncover the secrets of a forgotten community hidden in an overgrown forest where wandering spirits are trapped.
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Doom Eternal | PS4, PS5
Hell’s armies have invaded Earth. Become the Slayer in an epic single-player campaign to conquer demons across dimensions and stop the final destruction of humanity. The only thing they fear… is you. Experience the ultimate combination of speed and power in Doom Eternal – the next leap in push-forward, first-person combat. Armed with a flamethrower, wrist-mounted blade, upgraded guns, mods and abilities, you’re faster, stronger, and more versatile than ever. Use demon takedowns tactically to keep yourself equipped for battle: Glory kill for extra health, incinerate for armor, and chainsaw demons to stock up on ammo to become the ultimate demon-slayer.
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Riders Republic | PS4, PS5
Jump into the massive multiplayer playground! Grab your bike, skis, snowboard or wingsuit and squad up with your friends to compete in a wide range of multiplayer modes. Feel the rush of downhill races, dominate maps in team vs team competitions, or give it your best shot in epic mass PvP races with more than 50 other players. Live out the rider’s fantasy as you roam free in a huge, vibrant open world, always buzzing with other players around you. Immerse yourself in iconic American national parks including Bryce Canyon, Yosemite Valley, Mammoth Mountain… all mashed up for you to shred!
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Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus | PS4
An exhilarating adventure brought to life by the industry-leading id Tech 6 sends players to Nazi-controlled America on a mission to recruit the boldest resistance leaders left. You are BJ Blazkowicz, aka “Terror-Billy,” member of the Resistance, scourge of the Nazi empire, and humanity’s last hope for liberty. Only you have the guns and gumption to return stateside and spark the second American Revolution. Fight Nazis in iconic American locations, equip an arsenal of badass guns, and unleash new abilities to blast your way through legions of enemy soldiers in this definitive first-person shooter.
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The Evil Within | PS4
Developed by Shinji Mikami and Tango Gameworks, The Evil Within embodies the meaning of pure survival horror. Highly-crafted environments, horrifying anxiety, and an intricate story are combined to create an immersive world that will bring you to the height of tension. With limited resources at your disposal, you’ll fight for survival and experience profound fear in this perfect blend of horror and action.
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Wolfenstein: The Old Blood | PS4
Wolfenstein: The Old Blood is a standalone prequel to the first-person action-adventure shooter, Wolfenstein: The New Order. The adventure, which spans eight chapters and two interconnected stories, features the hallmarks of MachineGames – thrilling action, immersive story and intense first-person combat. As war hero B.J. Blazkowicz, arm yourself with new weapons such as the bolt-action rifle and grenade-launching Kampfpistole as you attempt to thwart the advancing Nazi war machine, and take advantage of duel-wielding pipes that can be used for wall climbing – or for vicious take-downs of never-before-seen Nazi adversaries.
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Bassmaster Fishing | PS4, PS5
For the first time ever, compete as or challenge 10 pro anglers from the Elite tour across 8 different real-world venues. Climb the ranks, earn your sponsors, and progress through your B.A.S.S. career to become the Bassmaster Classic Champion. Or take to the water and compete with other players in a variety of all-new massive multiplayer modes to conquer the global leader boards.
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Sackboy: A Big Adventure | PS4, PS5
Iconic PlayStation hero Sackboy bursts back into breathtaking action with a huge, fun and frantic 3D multiplayer platforming adventure. Go solo in an epic race against time stuffed with danger and peril or enjoy local or online party play, creating teams of two to four adventurers as you work together to overcome nefarious tasks however you can imagine, including unmissable co-op only levels.
PlayStation Deluxe | Classics
Doom | PS4
First released in 1993, Doom introduced millions of gamers to the fast-paced, white-knuckle, demon-slaying action the franchise is known for. Relive the birth of the first-person shooter and experience the demon-blasting fun that popularized the genre. This version includes expansion, Episode IV: Thy Flesh Consumed, local 4 player deathmatch and local 4 player co-op.
Doom II | PS4
To save Earth, you must descend into the depths of hell, survive demon hordes, and take part in the fiercest battle ever. This beloved sequel to the groundbreaking DOOM (1993) gave players the brutal Super Shotgun to bear against deadlier demons, and the infamous boss, the Icon of Sin. This version includes the Master Levels, 20 additional levels made by the community and supervised by the developers, local 4 player deathmatch and local 4 player co-op.
Doom 64 | PS4
Fight against demons in your crusade to hunt down the Mother of Demons and stop Hell’s invasion. As you battle through more than 30 action-packed levels, be on the lookout for enhanced weapons and secrets to help you put an end to the demonic threat.
Doom 3 | PS4
In this critically acclaimed action-horror re-telling of the original DOOM, players must battle their way through a demon-infested facility before entering the abyss to battle Hell’s mightiest warrior – and put an end to the invasion.
This version includes the Resurrection of Evil and The Lost Missions expansion packs.
Dishonored: Definitive Edition | PS4
Arkane Studios’ Dishonored, winner of over 100 Game of the Year awards, and all of its additional content come to together in this Definitive Edition! With Dishonored’s flexible combat system, creatively eliminate your targets as you combine the supernatural abilities, weapons and unusual gadgets at your disposal. “Void Walker’s Arsenal” offers unique character bonuses, additional bone charm slots, and more that will aid you in pursuit of revenge. Enter the world of the Outsider in “Dunwall City Trials” where you will put your combat, stealth and mobility skills to the test. Finally, play as the legendary assassin Daud in ‘The Knife of Dunwall’ and “The Brigmore Witches”.
As part of our normal content refresh, Marvel’s Spider-Man, Resident Evil, and NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 will be among some of the titles leaving the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog in May. Members with Game Catalog benefits can still play by May 15. You can always check the ‘Last chance to play section’ on the PlayStation Plus -> Collections page on the PS5 console, or PlayStation Plus -> Games -> Games Catalogue on the PS4 console for titles you might want to play before they leave the service.
We hope you enjoy this month’s Games Catalog lineup. Check back monthly for new games added to PlayStation Plus.
